A Tibetan monk has set himself alight in China's Sichuan province, amid claims of a crackdown on monasteries in the region.

Western-based activists said the monk, who they named as Tsewang Norbu, had died from his injuries.

A similar action sparked weeks of confrontation earlier this year in another town in Sichuan.

Unrest is fuelled by a widespread belief that the government wants to suppress Tibetan culture.

The argument has been going on for decades, with many Tibetans accusing the government of forcing monks to attend re-education camps, encouraging the migration of Han Chinese to Tibetan areas, and crushing any sign of dissent.

But the authorities say they have brought relative wealth and prosperity to a region that was a rural backwater.

The UK-based Free Tibet movement said the 29-year-old monk had doused himself with petrol and set himself alight at the Nyitso Monastery in Dawu town.

The group said he had been calling out "we Tibetan people want freedom", "long live the Dalai Lama" and "let the Dalai Lama Return to Tibet".

Most Tibetan monks are loyal to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader who has lived in exile in India for decades.

The state-run Xinhua news agency quoted local government officials confirming that a monk had set himself alight, but gave no details of his condition.

In March, a monk set light to himself in Aba, about 100 miles (150km) from the latest incident.

Local people accused the authorities of locking down that monastery and carting off monks to be re-educated.

Hòa thượng[a] Thích Quảng Đức ( /tɪtʃ kwɒŋ dʊk/ tich kwong duuk; Vietnamese pronunciation: [tʰɪ̌c kwãːŋ ɗɨ̌k]; Saigon: [tʰɪ̌t kwɐ̂ːŋ ɗɨ̌k] ( listen); Chữ Nôm:釋廣德; 1897 – 11 June 1963), born Lâm Văn Tức, was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. Thích Quảng Đức was protesting against the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's Ngô Đình Diệm administration. Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diệm regime. Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his renowned photograph of the monk's death. After his death, his body was re-cremated, but his heart remained intact.[1][2] This was interpreted as a symbol of compassion and led Buddhists to revere him as a bodhisattva, heightening the impact of his death on the public psyche.

What do the sutras and tantras say about suicide? I thought it was a very negative action, especially if one is a tantric practitioner. Or does a positive intention lessen the negative result here too? I'm asking more from the perspective of ordinary people I guess, since someone whose heart remains after cremation probably isn't just an ordinary person.

Although many individuals in this age appear to be merely indulging their worldly desires, one does not have the capacity to judge them, so it is best to train in pure vision.- Shabkar

I guess it's the intention that counts. A Chinese venerable burned himself alive to frighten red guards away from destroying Buddha statues. He is a True Dharma Protector and the good karma of the action far outweighs the negative Karma.

Although I don't know if such actions against the current Chinese regime is such a good idea... especially when Fa Lun Gong has been reported to do the same...